The present invention relates generally to children's wagons and, in particular, to a cup holder for plastic wagons.
The typical toy wagon includes a wagon body having a planar bottom portion and walls extending upwardly from the bottom portion to form a passenger compartment for carrying a child or cargo. The wagon body is supported by front and back wheel assemblies, which provide rolling contact with the ground. The front wheel assembly typically includes a bolster that is attached to the bottom surface of the body of the wagon in a pivoting fashion. A handle is connected to the bolster for pivoting the front wheel assembly such that steering can be effected.
Due to durability, cost and weight concerns, wagons constructed of plastic are becoming increasingly popular. Such wagons often include side, front and end walls molded from plastic. The walls typically feature an inner panel and an outer panel so as to provide a double-walled construction. The wagon walls are often removable so that the wagon may be more easily transported, in the trunk of a car, for example, or stored.
It is desirable to provide wagons with cup holders so that a person may transport children or objects while carrying the child's or that person's beverage. An example of a prior art wagon with cup holder is presented in U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 308,992 to Wagner. In this design, a shelf with circular openings is positioned across the leading portion of the wagon compartment, that is, between the wagon side walls and adjacent to the front wall of the wagon. A disadvantage of this design, however, is that, the cup holder takes up a considerable amount of valuable space within the passenger compartment of the wagon.
A further disadvantage of the cup holder of the Wagner '992 patent is that in order to support cups, the openings must be sized slightly smaller than the diameter of the tops of the cups. This has a large impact on the types and sizes of cups that may be accommodated by the device. Furthermore, in order to support cups that are sized smaller than the opening, the shelf must be placed close to the bottom of the wagon so that the bottom may support the cups. This means that the wagon must either be constructed with a very shallow passenger compartment or the shelf must be positioned inconveniently away from the top edges of the wagon side walls.
Constructing a cup holder in the wall of a plastic wagon presents numerous challenges. For example, in cases where the cup or container is heavy, the plastic wall may have a tendency to contort or bow under the load if the cup holder is only fastened to the inner panel of the wall. Attachments or brackets that fasten to both the inner and outer wall panels, however, may protrude through the exterior surface of the outer panel of the wall, causing unsightly bulges that may snag or tear clothing. As a result, it is desirable to provide a cup holder that does not protrude through the exterior surface of the outer panel of the side wall and, at the same time, fastens to both the inner and outer panels of the wall.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cup holder for a plastic children's wagon whereby the exterior surfaces of the wagon walls remain free of protrusions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a cup holder for a plastic wall of a children's wagon that is sturdy.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a children's wagon with a cup holder that is economical to manufacture.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the remaining portion of the specification.